Hold me, Lord.

 Amen. Here is a prayer for that deepest of human needs—to be held.

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Hold Me, Lord

Hold me, Lord.

My strength has ebbed,

my understanding fails,

the ground itself feels thin.

Hold me.

Be the arms beneath me when I fall,

the hands that cup this fragile dust.

“The eternal God is your refuge,

and underneath are the everlasting arms.”(Deuteronomy 33:27)

Let me feel the truth of it now,

beneath my shaking,beneath my sorrow—

You are the unyielding foundation.

Hold my mind.

When thoughts whirl like a storm of ash,

when fear shouts louder than faith,

be the stillness at the center.

“You will keep in perfect peace

those whose minds are steadfast,

because they trust in you.”(Isaiah 26:3)

Cradle my thinking in Your calm.

Hold my heart.

This bruised and weary vessel,

prone to wander,prone to break.

Mend it within Your grasp.

Let it beat in time with Yours.

“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”(Song of Solomon 6:3)

I am Yours.Hold me.

Hold me as a father holds a child

too tired for the walk home.

Hold me as a potter holds the clay,

shaping even through the pressure.

Hold me as the vine holds the branch—

without You,I am nothing. (John 15:5)

When the night is long and I cannot see,

hold me.

When the answer tarries and the silence grows,

hold me.

When I have no prayer left but this ragged breath,

hold me.

For You are the God who gathers.

“He tends his flock like a shepherd:

He gathers the lambs in his arms

and carries them close to his heart.”(Isaiah 40:11)

I am that lamb.

Carry me.

Let this be my one certainty,

my anchor in every gale:

I am held.

Not by a concept,not by a wish,

but by the One who spanned the heavens,

who wore our flesh,

who bore our scars,

and who—even now—

intercedes,with nail-pierced hands outstretched. (Romans 8:34)

So I will cease my striving.

I will release my grip.

I will fall back,trust-fall of the soul,

into the boundless,faithful hold of grace.

Hold me, Lord.

And never,ever let me go.

Amen.